Amsterdam - Shareholders of former Belgian-Dutch bank and
insurance giant Fortis NV want to force all Dutch, Belgian, and
Luxemburgian top bankers and politicians who were involved in the
bank's nationalization in late 2008 to testify in court.
'We have a list of at least 20 people who were involved in the
decisionmaking process of Fortis' nationalization in October 2008,'
Dutch attorney Adriaan de Gier told the German Press Agency dpa on
Monday.
De Gier's law firm, located in Utrecht in the central Netherlands,
is representing more than 1,200 private shareholders of Fortis NV.
They claim Fortis' nationalization by the Dutch state - which
caused its share value to plummet - was 'illegitimate,' resulting in
major financial losses.
In February, De Gier's law firm formally instituted court
proceedings against the Dutch and Belgian states, Fortis Holding,
Fortis Bank Netherlands, the Dutch Central Bank DNB, the Dutch
financial watchdog AFM and Belgian Federal Participation and
Investment Company SFPI.
This Wednesday, a court of first instance in Amsterdam will hear
De Gier's request to force court-ordered testimony of all top players
in the Fortis affair in Dutch public court hearings.
'The Dutch state refuses to let us hear these witnesses,' De Gier
said, 'but it is of the utmost importance that we get clarity about
the nationalization's decisionmaking process as soon as possible.'
If the court rules in De Gier's favour, Dutch prime minister Jan
Peter Balkenende, Dutch finance minister Wouter Bos, Dutch central
bank DNB president Nout Wellink and their colleagues from Belgium and
Luxembourg will be asked to appear in court to give their sworn
testimony about their role in the nationalization process.
'Dutch courts are inclined to permit such public testimony
hearings,' De Gier says, adding that he does however expect the court
to be 'very critical about the Fortis case.'
The Dutch state, meanwhile, has done its utmost to obstruct and
delay all legal processes, De Gier says.
'Some of their claims are just too absurd to be true. For example,
the Dutch state even claims some of my clients do not exist,' he
said, quoting a section from a Dutch state motion to prove his point.
'This is beyond all logic, if only because, as a Dutch lawyer, I
am by law required to verify my client's existence and identity.'
But, De Gier says, he understands where the Dutch state's attitude
comes from.
'If the court would eventually rule in our favour and confirm the
Fortis' nationalization was in fact illegitimate, then that will have
a massive impact. There will be major repercussions, also
politically.'
De Gier currently represents some 1,200 clients, who are jointly
financing the court case.
The total number of Dutch Fortis shareholders reaches to the
'hundreds of thousands,' the attorney says, adding that many Dutch
nationals are Fortis shareholders through their pension funds.
De Gier says that he is, therefore, expecting 'many more
shareholders' to join his class action case if the public testimony
hearings take place.
The court is expected to rule about six weeks after Wednesday's
hearing. If the court decides to permit the witness testimony, it is
likely to start in October and take several months.
It may take several years until court proceedings against the
Dutch and Belgian states and the other defendants will be completed.
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